原文
工业革命前的中国 第二部分
The industrial Revolution began with such machines; the millwrights were the engineers of the coming age.
James Brindley of Staffordshire started his self-made career in 1733 by working at mill wheels, at the age of seventeen, having been born poor in a village.
Brindley's improvements were practical: to sharpen and step up the performance of the water wheel as a machine.
It was the first multi-purpose machine for the new industries.
Brindley worked, for example, to improve the grinding of flints, which were used in the rising pottery industry.
逐句对比
比较自己的翻译和庄绎传先生的, 学习差异所在.
这一段总的来说比较简单，有些简单的词和词句可以记着，无论英汉还是汉英翻译都用得上。
The industrial Revolution began with such machines; the millwrights were the engineers of the coming age.
我的译文: 工业革命之初就是这类机器；那些设计研磨机械的人就是新时代的工程师。
参考译文: 而工业革命就是从这些机械开始的。修造磨坊的匠人就是开创新时代的工程师。
begin with 很简单的词，我译的 之初 别扭的很了。以后这种翻译要不得。
James Brindley of Staffordshire started his self-made career in 1733 by working at mill wheels, at the age of seventeen, having been born poor in a village.
我的译文: 1733 年，斯塔福德郡的 James Brindley 白手起家，开始了他的水车轮工作，当时他 17 岁，出生在农村，很穷。
参考译文: 斯塔福德郡的詹姆斯.布林德雷 ，出身于一个贫苦的农村家庭；1733 年，他 17 岁，就着手改良磨坊的车轮，从而开始了他那自我奋斗的生涯。
我译的时候是遵照原文叙述的顺序，参考译文是将原文顺序反过来，先介绍他的出身，然后讲他做了什么。
我个人感觉我的处理可能更好一点，承接上文，因为重点在于他做了什么，家庭背景只是补充吧。
start self-made career by doing sth 可以学习下，以后遇到创业用用。
Brindley's improvements were practical: to sharpen and step up the performance of the water wheel as a machine.
我的译文: Brindley 对机械的改进很实用：打磨，提高水车轮的性能，将它打造成机器。
参考译文: 布林德雷所做的改良很实际：改善并加强水池的机械功能。
sharpen: 把东西磨的锋利，比如磨刀 sharpen his knife
step up: 增加(数量等);提高(速度、强度等) If you step up something, you increase it or increase its intensity.
It was the first multi-purpose machine for the new industries.
我的译文: 这是新工业时代的第一款多功能机器。
参考译文: 这是为新工业提供的第一部多功能机器。
这句话很简单。multi-purpose 多功能
Brindley worked, for example, to improve the grinding of flints, which were used in the rising pottery industry.
我的译文: 例如，Brindley 研究提高了燧石打火技术，用于需求日益增长的电源行业。
参考译文: 例如，布林德雷努力改进燧石的研磨过程，燧石是新兴的陶瓷工业有用的材料。
work to improve sth 努力改进。以后中英翻译用得到。
rising 新兴的，比如 rising star 新星（名人）
来练习一下吧
参考译文见下一篇翻译练习.
工业革命前的中国 第三部分
Yet there was a bigger movement in the air by 1750.
Water had become the engineers' element, and men like Bridnley were possessed by it.
Water was gushing and fanning out all over the countryside.
It was not simply a source of power, it was a new wave of movement.
James Brindley was a pioneer in the art of building canals or, as it was then called, 'navigation'.
